Rating:  Summary: OOPS Review: Though Alexandra Ripley's impressive sense of history and her flair for romantic fiction set against a broad canvas are clearly on display here, this novel nearly destroyed my love for the original. The classic characters of Rhett, Scarlett, Ashley, Mammy, etc. are subjected to a mish-mashy plot that, as it rambles along, increasingly diminishes their glow and vibrancy. The twists in the plot defy description. It is utterly repugnant, both in concept and in delivery of that concept. Unlike Margaret Mitchell's true original, which had its heaping helpings of soap-opera, and which sprang from the driven mind of an original voice, this book feels manufactured in every way. It robs ideas and characters created with affection and creativity and pushes them, unwillingly, into situations that feel at every step false, silly and even stupid. Steer clear of the television film which uses this epic disaster as its basis -- it is even worse. Commercial fiction at its most engineered, and least authentic.
Rating:  Summary: OH MY GOSH! Loved it! Review: This book is definetely my favorite book, besides Les Miserables. I think that this one is better than Gone with the Wind itself, partly because of the ending, but they are both awesome. I love this so much, after i read it the first time, i picked it up, and read it again! If you were dissapointed about Rhett leaving, then you should definitely read this book!
Rating:  Summary: Disappointing Review: The book is romance novel trash. I suppose the only benefit was that the Mitchell Trusts got to extend their copyright on GWTW, which would have expired in 2011 if they had not consented to the writing of the sequel. Scarlett lacks the interplay of history and devotion to the traditions of the Old South that is evident thoroughout Margaret Mitchell's work.Ripley obviously spent a lot of time engaged in historical research. For example, she knew that South Carolina law did not permit divorce (a circumstance that was not changed until after World War II) and also knew that military courts sometimes granted divorces anyway during the Reconstruction Period.
Rating:  Summary: 5 STARS! 100%! Love it! The BEST! Review: I LOVE THIS BOOK! So will you! Once I found out there was a sequel to GWTW I couldn't sleep at night! I was restless, snappy, moody. I just had to get my hands on that book! I thought I was going to go crazy! Insane! Or even- Oh sorry about that! Back to the Book! I adore it! Crave it like CHOCOLATE! Sleep with it under my pillow! I can't live with out that-oops! I'm of on another tangent! So sorry! Anyway, in this book Scarlett becomes so much more mature and loving, especially after the birth of Cat. And Rhett comes back! I was overjoyed! Exstatic! Thrilled! Rhett came back! When I got to that part of the book I jumped up and down! Laughed with happiness! Skipped around the room wear in only a- Heh heh! Whoops! As I was saying.... I had no idea that anyone could write such a fantastic, fablous, wonderful, perfect, *calm down! breath deeply!* Okay! Here I go, Scarletts love of the land really shines through when she fixes up her familys land, Bally Hara, to its former glory! Its amazing, awsome.. I better go for I give my self a heart attack!
Rating:  Summary: ....At least it had a happy ending... Review: I was so excited about reading the sequel to my favorite book, GWTW. I was expecting it to be another sensational story like GWTW, but unfortunately, it was not. One thing to it's credit, though, was that it had a happy ending. But heck, i would've liked the book even if my six year old neighbor had written it, as long as it had a happy ending. I was so mad after i read GWTW, it had such a terrible ending! Anyway, back to 'Scarlett'. hummm....what can i say? It disappointed me a lot. Don't get me wrong, i think you should read it if you're dying to see what happened to Rhett and Scarlett like i was. (Isn't Rhett...dashing? ) Just don't get your hopes up about this one. And there was way too little on Rhett, for those of you who love Rhett. It started out OK, i guess. And the middle was OK..and also the ending. But things were kinda complicated in Ireland. And why...Well, i could go on forever, but i'd just like to say this: Don't get your hopes up. It's a good book, but don't expect it to top GWTW. I don't think any book could. Anyway, it had a happy ending and that's the most important part. I wonder if Alexandra Ripley is going to write another sequel to this book.... :)
Rating:  Summary: "Scarlett" proves not to be a waste of 884 pages... Review: When I heard about the sequel to Margaret Mitchell's "Gone With The Wind", my favorite book, I was a bit skeptical at first. It wasn't even written by the origional author, and futhermore, how could there possibly be a sequel to such an amazing book? It doesn't need one. Nevertheless, my curiosity overcame me and I read the book, I had to find out if Rhett and Scarlett ever got back together. In the beginning I was disappointed, Ripley killed off Mammy and made Scarlett so easily leave Tara when Tara was supposedly her heart and soul. As I kept on reading, I was greatly surprised at the quality of Ripley's writing and the way she made it so that I couldn't put the book down. Scarlett had grown up into a strong, respected woman, like her mother...who she always wanted to be, and Rhett came back, which made my time reading the book well spent. Although "Scarlett" is not as good as the origional, I'd have to say it's definately on my top ten list. Alexandra Ripley portrays each character in the same manner that Margaret Mitchell did, which was a pleasant surprise because I didn't think that any author was half as good as her until I read this book. Rhett is still the same dashing character, although quite older, and Ashley regains his old image when Scarlett returns for a visit. In the first novel, Gerald tells her that the love of the land is in her Irish blood, it really shows through in the second. Her passion for building Ballyhara to perfection in order to restore the O'Hara land, proves that Scarlett really does have Irish blood in her. Furthermore, I'd have to say that seeing Scarlett mature from a young, selfish little girl into an intelligent self-sufficient individual and a loving mother really makes this book worth reading. Her strong desire to get Rhett back in the end without acting desperate shows her great strength in character and is inspiring. As a whole, I'd say this novel is definately worth reading if you're a fan of "Gone With the Wind" and are craving to find out what happens with Scarlett and Rhett. You won't be disappointed.
Rating:  Summary: Totally Enthraling! Review: I first read GWTW 2 years ago and absolutely fell in love, I think Im just a little obsessed,Since I had read it tons, you could call it my Bible, but I practically flipped when I found out there was a sequel. I absolutely love "Scarlett", It is a wonderful book that transports you instantly into another time and place, Scarlett is a real heroine and true role model in this book, She shows that women can make it on there own and Without men (for awhile at least)! I hope you do read this book and enjoy it!
Rating:  Summary: just not good enough Review: I read GTWT last year, and of course was dying to read the sequel, because I fell so in love with the characters that I couldn't bear to see them apart. So I checked "Scarlett" out from the library and read it in three days. I was very disappointed. The best word to describe it is unbelievable, and not in a good way either. The plot is not plausible at all. Land, especially Tara, "the only thing worth fighting for- worth dying for," was very important to Scarlett. After the war, she tried to sell herself to save Tara. Why would she sell Tara a few years later? And why did Mammy have to die? Mammy was one of the best characters. What happened to all the people in Atlanta- Ashley, Aunt Pitty, the Merriweathers, the Meades, the Elsings? How come Scarlett went to Charleston and attached herself to Rhett's relatives, and how come they had the same lifestyle as the County people did before the war? And, after pursuing Rhett so closely, why did Scarlett cross an ocean to be away from him? Why did Scarlett travel all over Europe being a social butterfly? And why did she bring in the whole thing about the people thinking Cat was cursed, or whatever that was about? Why did Rhett, the heart and soul of GWTW, play such a small part in "Scarlett?" What was the whole deal about his second wife? Rhett would never had divorced Scarlett and married again. He would threaten but he wouldn't do it. The best part of GWTW was the complexities of the characters and their relationship, and that is completely gone in "Scarlett." Scarlett chases Rhett, he runs, she goes to Ireland, he heroically rescues Scarlett and their child, and the novel comes to a close with the two saying mushy things about their future together. This book has none of the passion, tension, and paradoxical beauty of "Gone With the Wind." The only thing to its credit is the happy ending.
Rating:  Summary: I DONT KNOW ABOUT THIS ONE Review: This book cannot compare to GWTW. It was also unbelievable. I found myself saying, "rhett would never say that" or "scarlett would never do that" I thought the middle of the book, scarlett relises who she really is and how she is going to make her child her number one priority, well little did we know that scarlett was going to leave her kid at home while she went to paries week after week in dublin. And i also thought that rhett was a dashing man....what happened to that? A true dissapointment.
Rating:  Summary: ...Sweeps Me Off My Feet Every Time... Review: As a faithful fan of the entire Gone With The Wind saga, and not to mention a picky reader, I opened my first copy of Scarlett with a great deal of skepticism. After the first 20 pages, I had no doubt that I was in for a rare treat - a book that gave me all of the five senses PLUS one. By the time Scarlett reached Tara, so had I. Never before have I been privilaged enough to become the main character of a novel; to see, smell, taste, touch, hear absolutely everything I was reading about. It becomes difficult when watching a movie about a book to form one's own opinions about a character's quirks (for instance, in my mind I always see Scarlett with one eyebrow cocked upwards thanks to Vivien Leigh) , but this book, along with Ripley's further development of Scarlett's person, plowed straight ahead without apology. I found the excursion to Ireland a delectable experience, as I devoured every page (even after my 10th read). Please don't pass this book up because of pre-judgements made in regards to the "origional"...it is a fine, fine piece of literature. (Do yourself one favor - don't see the "movie" version of Scarlett prior to reading the book.
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